Cotter scores 2nd goal with 7 seconds left in OT, Devils defeat Bruins

NEWARK, N.J. -- Paul Cotter scored his second goal with seven seconds remaining in overtime on a breakaway to give the New Jersey Devils a 4-3 victory against the Boston Bruins at Prudential Center on Monday.

"We were kind of hemmed in and there was a little craziness going on and I remember right when the puck was up, I took a peek at the clock and knew it was winding down," Cotter said. "I looked at Dougie (Hamilton) and he yelled to keep going so I tried to do something quick and happy it went in."

Jack Hughes passed to Cotter in the neutral zone, and the 26-year-old forward scored his first NHL overtime goal.

"We were talking as coaches ... we were just going to start walking off the bench because that's the level of confidence we have in Paul," New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. "My first thought was, 'Well we don't have to wait for the shootout' so let him just do his thing. He's at the top of the list of anyone who you want to have in that type of situation."

Jack Hughes had three assists to become the fastest player in Devils history to reach 400 career points. Hughes has 402 points (158 goals, 244 assists) in 414 games. Kirk Muller had been the previous fastest to 400 (429 games).

Connor Brown had a goal and an assist for New Jersey (34-31-2), which went 5-2-0 on a team record seven-game homestand. Jacob Markstrom made 20 saves. 

"I think there's a lot of encouraging signs about our group right now," Brown said. "The way we're playing, the depth scoring, the fourth line chipping in. I think we weren't really messing around in the second period ... they had five guys at their blue line so we just kind of put it in, went to get it, and I think that kind of tilted the rink for us a little bit."

David Pastrnak scored two goals to extend his point streak to six games for the Bruins (37-23-7), who are 1-3-5 in their past nine games away from TD Garden. Joonas Korpisalo made 30 saves.

The Bruins hold the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, one point behind the Detroit Red Wings and two points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

"We started to play their hockey," said Pastrnak, who has nine points (four goals, five assists) during his streak. "You make mistakes against a talented team like that, you're going to defend the whole period. We talked about it before the second period and that's what hurts even more. We should be mature enough to know that it's coming and we didn't."

Pastrnak slipped in a rebound from the slot to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 4:02 of the first period.

Pavel Zacha made it 2-0 when he converted on a 2-on-1 with Viktor Arvidsson with a wrist shot from the slot at 14:29. 

Brown scored on a breakaway after taking a lead pass from Jack Hughes at the Bruins blue line to pull the Devils to within 2-1 at :32 of the second period. 

Jesper Bratt scored on a slap shot from the right face-off circle to tie it 2-2 at 8:08. The Bratt-Hughes-Brown line combined for six points (two goals, four assists) and nine shots on goal.

"I thought (our line) played off the forecheck a little more tonight," Brown said. "I mean, with those guys, they're not going to just put it in and play like a fourth line. I thought that we tilted the rink, fatigued their team's legs and I thought our speed kind of came through. I think that was a big difference from the last couple games."

Cotter gave the Devils a 3-2 lead on a snap shot from the left hash marks at 2:50 of the third period.

Pastrnak tied it 3-3 after skating into the right face-off circle, dragging the puck past Nico Hischier in the slot, and scoring on a backhand at the left post at 4:32.

"We knew their strength and we kind of played into it there for a period," Zacha said. "That's on us, but we have to learn from it and keep moving forward."

NOTES: Pastrnak scored his 37th goal in the opening five minutes of a game to pass Phil Esposito (36) for the most in Bruins history. ... Charlie McAvoy had an assist to extend his road point streak to eight games (four goals, six assists). ... Pastrnak has 81 points (26 goals, 55 assists) this season to join Jaromir Jagr (10) as the second Czechia-born player with seven 80-point seasons. ... Hughes has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in his past 10 games since returning from winning gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics.